A walk by bike

After reiterating the obstacle in the ‘know your ward’ step at least 10 times, we came up with an explicit action of meeting well identified community people. Who were they? Organizations of people in the informal sector! Yes they exist and they very well have a proper formal structure. I still don’t know why they are called informal sector but they are so inevitable part of the society. The surroundings are clean because of them and they are not even doing it by choice. Who would like to put our hands in the dirt themselves? This reminds me of the Marathi movie ‘Fandry’, It’s a must watch.

So I get a couple of contact numbers to start with. Having a phone number feels like such an important step to start with! Wonder what they did to meet new people when there were no phones? They are among the staff of the organization which works in solid waste management in the city. It’s a cooperative and works with the PMC. I called up the moment I got the number and asked for some time. One brick of inertia broken! Once I get the time I would surely be present for the meeting.

I didn't sound that attractive on the phone. He agreed to give me time but postponed it last minute to the next day. I was ready to go wherever the person would be on the field but he insisted he comes to my office to meet me. He appeared an hour late on the postponed day. I was skeptical about the meeting when AM disbelieved that people from that particular organization could be like that. He was right. Once I met the person and detailed him the reason of investigations (!), he was very much an open well where I could draw as much water as I wanted. He had all the time in the world to show me around and speak to me. Also, the work and the people involved demanded that he doesn't work according to the watch but according to the need of the time. I couldn't blame him for not coming on time. Anyway, punctuality is not a basic virtue, it’s a secondary one. (I have debated within myself about it and I am an opportunistic punctual person!!)

We decided to go by bike as we had to cover larger area and visit 3 – 4 spots. But this was very much a part of the tool ‘Ward walk’ and he was very much a key informant about the prabhag that I am working in.

The world that didn’t exist in my world was the world he lived and worked with. This was almost the first time I was going to connect to this world officially. He took me to an elite society where they had recently started composting within the premises. The reasons to start were amazing. The person who used to collect the waste from the society and dump at the public waste bin nearby was punished by PMC for doing so. (What! I don’t believe this. It’s like leaving the thief and punishing the saint ‘Chor sodun sanyashyala bali! ’) So the organization intervened and started a dialogue with the society. An enthusiastic woman who is the secretary of that society got convinced and managed to convince everyone. They segregate 100 % of their waste at source. A compost pit is made in the premises itself and the dry waste is sold out to scrap. Wow!! Wish everyone does that.

When asked about the specialties of the ward that he perceives, he says, ‘So many literate people, so many foreign returned people, so many politicians and still the state of solid waste management is so bad.’ There were some more that he mentions other than these like; the staff of the organization gets better salaries in this area compared to the other city parts. This area is a mix of newly developed area and old habitation. A colleague of him joins the discussion at a sorting shade + an organic waste composting (OWC) unit run in premises of a national organization for last 5 years successfully. The in-charge of this task from the staff of the national org boasts to have this unit on their campus and mentions how happy they are to have it. The OWC machine is underutilized and hence they are approaching residential societies nearby to take their waste. Of course, the residents inside the organization and outside it don’t segregate their waste at source.

The major problem that they face is apathy of citizens towards segregation at source. It is such a simple thing to do but the attitude comes in between. The most civilized, sophisticated argue that they pay for the service, they should get it. What they don’t understand is the cost does not include the service of segregation, it’s an individual responsibility and everyone has to do it not just morally but legally as well. The staff to some extent has even accepted that the citizens are not going to change their attitude and has been asking for well equipped (! A washroom, some drinking water and a shelter on the head) sorting shades instead. But even that doesn't sound important to the formal sector of the society.

They have demanded their basic needs to the administration and to the elected representatives but all in vein. I am sure the other side of the table will have their own reasons to share. These people also filled up the PB forms last year and followed it up with the Ward office only to receive no feedback on their suggestions. They look forward to making the PB process more transparent and accountable. They also realized that filling up the forms after group discussions would help than individual submissions.

On the way, he also shares the interesting dynamics between powerful people in the ward. An aspirant for the post of Corporator runs a private ghantagadi (a vehicle collecting waste from society to society which rings the bell when it reaches in any area, hence the name) free of cost distracting people from a service like their which is fair. He indicates to another man who is pushing a wheel barrow loaded with lot of waste bags and tells me that he earns Rs. 20K from a job in PMC. I am awestruck to know that the person demands that he would continue doing this extra work to earn some extra money above 20K not realizing that by doing so he is reducing the employment of other fellow beings.

When I explained what we are trying to do in 5 wards as action research, even the simple 3 steps of outreach, informed form filling by group discussions and a prioritization by citizens in presence of the administration and the elected representatives sounded a huge expectation. “Will it work?” They asked me. That’s exactly what we want to see if it works or not.

May all realize their responsibility towards the waste they generate and may they use their mind prudently towards the people who make their (formal sector) life better by making their (informal sector) own life dirty! 

What a Walk!! A Ward Walk!

Where did that hesitation disappear? Why was it there in the first place? Where did it come from? I have no clue why I didn’t do it all these days what I finally did today. I was so happy doing it that I actually messaged AM saying that, “feeling like I am the heroine of the movie called PB!! Enjoying the ward walk and talking to new people!”

All this while, I was feeling that I am stuck because I don’t have anyone with me to do it. But when did I start having this need of having someone with me. I used to tease my friends in school and college that they needed someone to go with them even to go to washroom. I never needed one like that. Even to explore the world beyond the college life, I travelled alone to far off places in India, stayed in people’s houses whom I met only after reaching there, ate the local food even when my eyes couldn’t control flowing for its spice, drank the milk of camel in the Calotropis (Rui) leaf for the want of a container, rode on the bike of strangers to reach even more unknown places and people and so on.

But everything is changing, so am I. I felt stuck. I needed someone to walk with me in my ward. I was asking help to other group members and to friends to join me. I was procrastinating the action. Finally, I could feel that the pressure is getting built within me is because of the non-action. I must do it. Let it happen the way it would happen but let me just do it, even if I feel unprepared for it.

It reminds me of James clear’s article on 2 minute rule. Just decide to do it for 2 minutes whatever you are unable to do. Once you start it will take you along and you wouldn’t realize when the 2 minutes became 2 hours.

I had decided to take just a small part of the ward which was walk-able in one go. I took the closest road from where I was. A laminated map in one hand, a blue umbrella in another and the mobile purse in the neck, favourite walking shoes for the feet,  a smile on the face, curiosity and inquisitiveness in the eyes, enthusiasm and empathy in the heart, I was ready to go.

For the first time, the road flex boards made some sense to me. Now I know why they are there. I don’t justify them, especially the way an-aesthetically they are put and for the apparent reasons they are put for. But at the same time they serve as the Non – Virtual Public Information System!! Whoa!! Sounds a big name for the poor flex boards!

I came across an Auto Riksha Stand and started reading the board. I had some questions and asked a Riksha Driver waiting for customer. Interestingly, after I told the purpose of this inquisitiveness, he offered me to come to their annual meeting which happens around the planning of Shravan celebrations. He was open to exchange the contact numbers and we did that promising to meet for the Annual meeting. He also shared the nuances of their relationship with other Riksha drivers from other areas who are not member of this Auto stand.

Going ahead, I see a vacant patch of land behind a shop on the road. I casually ask the owner of the temporarily constructed shop about the ownership of the land and he knows it. This shouldn’t come to me as a surprise for sure. The neighbourhood always knows more about each other. Around the corner I see some Yuva Munch and I inquire about them. I couldn’t see the person who runs it but surely could secure his contact to go meet him later.

The laminated map of my prabhag (electoral ward) told me that I was crossing the boundary of my prabhag, but I was very much in my admin ward. Pune has 14 Administrative Wards and every Admin Ward has 4-5 prabhags leading to total number of 76. The road ahead looked interesting for there existed no traffic, farms on one side, big wide divider without any cement blocks. I had been on this road to some extent before but had never checked where it leads. It was a lonely and lovely road. I came across few school children playing along the road. To my obvious question their answer came in such an obvious tone as if the entire world knew where the road lead to except me. The cheerful faces encouraged me to go ahead.

Towards the end of this road at the wide divider some plantation was on. I greeted the gardener and inquired about the species of the plant he was planting. I knew it was Golden Duranta as they call it. It is used heavily as a hedge plant. The trend is to make a complete monoculture of it for that purpose. In itself, Duranta is not that bad as many insects visit its flowers and fruits. But monoculture is something not very healthy for the environment. We don’t care of our own health, when will we think of Environment health though for our own selfish motive? Also, I had recently learnt from the PMC authorities that the government nurseries no more harbor exotic species. They are now completely native plants’ nurseries. The new plantation done by PMC are of native or naturalized species. They are also trying to phase out the exotics already planted. This is what intrigued me to explore who is planting Duranta?  

A discussion with these gardeners led me to a big residential development project getting constructed at the end of the road. I tried tracking down the person who could be taking decisions about what to plant where but with no success. While returning, I happened to speak to the gardener again and enquired about him and let him do the same about me. I divulged the details of PB and the purpose of my walk. He seemed impressed and told me how he works in 2 shifts in the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) just opposite the construction which I had already visited. I felt disappointed by my nonobservance that I would have missed out an important place if I hadn’t spoken to the Gardener. But now I realizing that my low observation is compensated by more listening. I ask questions and like to listen to their answers, not to argue but to know them genuinely. I do that with almost every informal sector person around me.

I rushed back and entered the building like a queen to meet the head of the STP. I was lucky enough to be able to meet the lab-in-charge lady on the field itself (not in the office). She took me around and showed what stages our toilet waste goes through before meeting the river. It was much better than my visit to the biogas plant and the organic Waste composting plant which exist and operate very well in my ward. I always wanted to visit one and here I was visiting, so much by chance!! The lady seemed so interested in her work and felt completely at home at this plant.

I am so pleased to meet all such wonderful people in the system which we keep cribbing about without knowing anything about it. I enquired with her about being part of the IBA (Inquiry Based Approach) team and she seemed completely on board. 

The capacity of the plant is 30 MLD and is generally underused except for monsoon where the inflow increases. The local residents are generally not ready to the work as it involves working with dirt while people from rural area forms their crew.

Thanking the gardener I decided to call a day and headed back when an informal settlement attracted my attention. These were the labours of the construction work and were staying on the builder’s land (!) itself. I didn’t know how to and what to interact with migrants though we had briefly talked about it in one of our meetings. I somehow tell them the purpose of my unsolicited visit and get nicely shocked (a little less than that) by their direct questions, “what exactly do you want to do?”

I head back and prefer walking on the other side of the road to not miss out on things on that side of the road. A blue colored industrial looking shade amidst the farms waiting to be developed (!) into counties and villas asked for my attention. Siesta occupied that space owing to the time of the day and the hard work the women must have put into in the morning making the food for Anganwadis of Pune. The shyness which couldn't be dissolved by my soft skills could reveal only this much along with the name of the person who was in-charge of the place.

I was thirsty and really wanted to go back and share the success of the ward walk which I had so much hesitated all this while. I was happy that I had gone alone which helped me explore according to my pace, curiosity and empathy. I didn’t have to deal with somebody else’s hesitation and mental blocks. I saw so many new places which are at a distance not more than a km from where I sit every day.

This reminds me what the snake-friends tell about snakes, ‘they are always around us but we see them rarely.’